Before Jericho

Prologue and Chapter One

She sat alone, holding the phone tight against her. She was staring out the window at a rainy day in Jericho, Nebraska. It fell in thick sheets, drenching the landscape for miles around. The phone felt heavier the longer she held it. She glanced down at it and caught sight of her wedding ring. She'd only had it on for a few days but already it felt like too long. Don't call, said a voice in the front of her mind. You want to call, you need to call, said another. This one was further back in her mind, almost in her subconscious, but this voice was strong, it carried farther. She turned the phone over and the screen lit up. She started to dial.

She punched in the last number and all she could do was stare down at the send button. It sat at the bottom of the screen, large and green. It would be so easy to push it, so easy to make the call and leave all of this behind. That would also mean giving up on everything she knew, everything she was sure of, including her marriage, which was only three days old. If you're going to do it, it has to be soon. Hubby will be home from work in less than an hour, the back voice said. You can't abandon your life Madelyn, said the other voice. This one sounded suspiciously like her mother, always the voice of cold reason.

She stared at the phone. The send button began to look larger with each passing moment. Call... Don't call... The voices were trying to yell over each other. Her finger hovered just above the green button... A promise to keep, she thought.

Chapter One... Saturday

God this place is gorgeous, Madelyn Blue thought, gazing back at the sprawling resort behind her. Its two five story buildings shot up beside the live oaks and palm trees, their green exterior nearly blended with the foliage. She was standing on the pristine white sands of a South Carolina barrier island while the Atlantic ebbed restlessly behind her. She was, in fact, standing in the exact spot where she was to become Mrs. Madelyn Lofton. In just six short days Trevor would be her husband. The thought both exhilarated and tired her at the same time. She hoped that was normal.

She gazed at the resort a moment longer, breathing in the freshness brought by the wind, before heading back toward it. She followed a path between two sloping sand dunes, dotted with long sea oats that danced in the breeze. The path ended at the huge pool area of the Palmetto Bay Resort and Spa. Madelyn could see her mother, Catherine, seated on a white pool chair next to the large, zero-entry pool that encompassed almost the entire area. She entered the area, passing a large open bar that was closed at the early hour. It was attached to a small hut that likely served as a kitchen area.

A few kids splashed around in the shallow end of the pool, while an unobservant father sipped a Pina Colada and dangled his feet in one of the six hot tubs. These sat on a deck overlooking the pool and all but the one were unoccupied. She had no idea where the man had gotten the cocktail, as the bar was closed and technically the pool area wasn't even open yet. It was only nine thirty and the pool was supposed to stay closed until ten. However, when Maddie and her mother had come down that morning, a shaky, little man, with a high pitched voice had unlocked it and let them in. He said he worked with the resort's recreation department. He'd worn a polo shirt and khaki shorts with the resort's emblem, but his nametag was worn and illegible.

She plopped down in the chair beside her mother with a grunt, noticing that polo-shirt man was now cleaning the pool with a large net. She looked at her mother, who sat with her eyes closed, looking aggravated as usual. She wore a low-cut one piece that showed off her recently reconstructed breasts. She also wore a huge straw hat that flopped down around the edges almost comically. Maddie thought it looked ridiculous but her mother had said hats were in style again.